Stacy Blackman, founder of Stacy Blackman Consulting,
helps clients earn admission to top MBA programs. She has an
undergraduate degree from the Wharton School at the University of
Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of
Management at Northwestern University.

Based on a decade of helping clients get into Harvard, her team
has assembled a list of 10 qualities that will help you
stand out to the admissions committee:

10. Maturity

Rather than focusing on how long you've been doing something,
demonstrate how you've grown — from your values to your
view of the world.

9. Initiative

Harvard doesn't want people who fit in; it wants people
who stand out.

You need to demonstrate the desire and ability to spark up a new
conversation or idea. Any situation in which you took charge
voluntarily, rather than being assigned something, is worth
discussing with the admissions committee, Blackman writes.

8. Integrity

Integrity is more than being respectful. It's more than any
single attribute. Integrity is a combination of attributes,
Blackman writes. She cites the following traits from Dr. Henry
Cloud's book "Integrity"
that make up this value: creates trust, unafraid of reality,
results-oriented, solves negative realities, causes growth, and
finds meaning in life.

You'll want to demonstrate how you responded in a difficult
ethical situation to "provide evidence of honesty,
forthrightness, and expertise in navigating ethical conundrums,"
Blackman says.

7. Vision

With a mission to "educate leaders to make a difference in the
world," HBS isn't looking for candidates who simply want a résumé
boost, Blackman writes. If you're applying to Harvard, you
have to "think big."

6. Self-awareness

While it's important to demonstrate your achievements and
abilities to the admissions committee, it's equally as important
to reflect what you've learned from each experience.

"Self-awareness isn't a quality that you demonstrate by telling a
story," Blackman writes. "Rather, it has to do with how you tell
the story and your ability to communicate what you
learned."

5. Case method compatibility

Case studies provide students with the chance to analyze and make
decisions in a real-world simulation, and HBS is almost
completely dedicated to using them, Blackman writes.

The qualities the admissions committee is looking for in
candidates include intellectual curiosity, exceptional
communication skills, a respect for the opinions of others, and
the ability to teach as well as learn from peers, Blackman
writes.

4. Passion

Passion is a useful tool for staying motivated and
productive, whether it's in school or business. But it goes much
deeper than simply being passionate about what you are doing. You
need to express your passion in a way that will inspire and
project energy onto those you are working with, Blackman
writes.

"It's not just your footprints that interest HBS
admissions," she says. "They also want to see the footprints of
those who are following you as you blaze a new trail in an area
of passion."

3. Solutions-oriented

"The central question in every HBS case is not 'what do you
think?' but rather 'what would you do?'" Blackman writes.

It's all about results. Your thought processes and ability
to analyze the situation at hand are important, but you have to
take it further than that. The committee wants "evidence that you
have applied your analysis, formulated an action plan, and most
importantly, executed the plan."

2. Service

As with leadership, the committee is concerned with the
connection between your achievements and how they reflect who you
are. There are two reasons community service is important,
Blackman writes:

"It provides insights into your deeper interests and the
causes that you care about."

"The admissions officers want to see evidence that you are
the type of person who devotes energy to making a community
stronger" because they may be inviting you into their
community.

1. High-impact leadership

"Your past leadership achievements are the best gauge of
your potential for realizing your future ambitions," Blackman
writes in her Harvard Interview Guide.

You need to provide hard proof that you made a difference.
It's not all about the scale of your achievements, Blackman
writes, but rather "the fact that you left indelible
footprints."